Posts Tagged ‘party food’

A short update on the gluten challenge – I did the 90 days and got my blood-work done. The tests came back negative for Celiac Disease. Initially we planned on doing a biopsy as well, but that’s just not feasible at the moment, so since we already know I am gluten intolerant I’ll be avoiding gluten again.

Now…Dinner tonight was one of our favorite not so healthy meals…cauliflower pakora (an Indian dish,) which reminds us of popcorn chicken!Pakora

Ingredients:

2 cups chickpea (garbanzo) flour (milling dried chickpeas works)

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

1.5 cups of water

1 large head of cauliflower chopped into bite sized pieces

1 large onion diced

2-6 cups of oil for frying (I use olive oil)

Directions:

Blend together all ingredients except for the cauliflower, onion, and oil. The batter should be smooth, and slightly thick.

Stir in the chopped cauliflower and diced onion until coated with batter

Heat the oil in a heavy pan to 375*F (We use a wok with a couple of inches of oil in it.)

Fry in batches for about 4-5 minutes, until golden.

Removed to a paper towel lined bowl or plate to drain.

Serve hot with optional chutney like sauce (recipe below.)

Chutney (may bear very little resemblance to actual chutney since I’ve never had it, and sort of made this up randomly.)

Ingredients:

1 half cup of apricot preserves (check the ingredients for any ingredients you might need to avoid)

1-2 teaspoons of juice from canned or jarred jalapenos. (optionally include a few bits of diced jalapeno)

1 teaspoon onion powder

dash of powdered ginger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and serve as a dipping sauce for pakora

The pakora (vegan popcorn chicken) works great in a big bowl shared during a movie or party. Stay tuned for how to use cauliflower as a buffalo wing substitute!